Louise Bourgeois (1911 - 2010) – The artist

Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010) created "Hours of the Day" in 2006. The theme of temporality was central in her work, as Bourgeois was equally fascinated by its endlessness and constant repetitions. She wrote: "Time - lived time, forgotten time, shared time... what does time impose on us - dust and decay? My memories help me to live in the present, and I want them to survive."

Quote

« Distance and patience and benevolence towards the Hours of the Day – Respect the hours and help them to suceed each other harmoniously – the heavy hours of the afternoon and the busy hours of the evening – the silent hours of the night.»

Louise Bourgeois, diary entry, 1965

Sculpture "Hours of the Day"

Bourgeois' psychoanalytically oriented art often drew inspiration from traumas in her childhood. Many of the artist's memories revolved around her family's textile repair workshop, where she grew up surrounded by people who sewed, embroidered, and mended. Consequently, textiles were a deeply personal medium for Bourgeois, and their use became a constant in her body of work. Over decades, she collected fabric remnants and everyday textiles like bags, tablecloths, and nightgowns, which she incorporated into her pieces. Bourgeois regarded these materials as imbued with memories, and sewing as an act of psychological and spiritual restoration.

"Hours of the Day" consists of 12 fabric panels, each depicting a different time of day and the progressive stopping of the hour hand from 1 to 12. Collectively, these works illustrate the relentless, inexorable flow of time.

It's worth mentioning that "Hours of the Day" is on loan from a private collection.

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